Blood of the Orochimaru
by Yuugi-chan
Summary: Sakura's parents have been killed by Orochimaru right before her eyes. While the group accompianed by Ino stay in the woods for a week of survival training, Sasuke tries to find out what Orochimaru's plan is while staying alive. SasukexSakura [Complete]
1. Things That No One Sees Coming

"What do you mean we have to do it over?!" a now hysterical Naruto yelled.

"Just as I said, you barely got past the second part of your journeymen ninja exam, so we're placing you out in the middle of the woods so you can do it over," Kakashi explained for a third time that day.

Naruto pouted, "Yeah, but we got through it didn't we? So why do we have to do it- ow!"

Naruto rubbed his head where Sakura had swiftly punched him. Sasuke glanced over at the members of his cell, wondering when they were going to stop acting like bumbling idiots. Scratch that, for Naruto that seemed to be physically and mentally impossible.

Sakura looked up at Kakashi, "You said we were going in a team of four, does that mean your coming with us?"

Master Kakashi turned over a page in his book, "No, you're getting another member from another cell for this exercise. Actually, she volunteered for it. So she's going to stay within your cell for the entire week of this exercise instead of training with her group."

Sakura immediately stopped in her tracks. She knew fully well who had volunteered and she wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea. "Ino," she muttered under her breath.

"You say something Sakura?" Kakashi dully asked.

Sakura sighed and kept walking. As Master Kakashi went over the details of this exercise Naruto was thinking of the instant-cup ramen waiting for him at home. This resulted in him tripping over a root and landing flat on his face. Saksuke rolled his eyes, a whole week of Naruto's idiocy and Sakura's annoying attempts to flirt with him.

"I told you to watch out for that root Naruto, but obviously your mind was elsewhere. On your instant-cup ramen, perhaps?" their sensei questioned, more to himself than Naruto. "Now, as I was saying, this exercise will begin in exactly two hours time at the woods west of here. I suggest you go home and get what you need to prepare yourselves. Oh, and if you don't show up, I will find out, so you're going to come either way Naruto."

Naruto gave a defeated sigh and trudged home.

"Hey Sakura! Hurry up, we're supposed to be there by now!" Naruto called from outside. Sasuke wasn't exactly thrilled to be put in a cell with another girl like Sakura. Not only that, the bag that Naruto had brought was full of ramen, all of which were expired.

"I'll be down in a minute, let me just say good-bye to my mom and dad!"

Sasuke scoffed. She complained about parents nagging her, but she always said her good-byes before leaving for long exercises or missions. Deep down, he envied her. At least she _had_ parents to go home to.

"Mom, Dad, I'm leaving now," Sakura called to her parents through the door. There was no answer.

"Mom, Dad, I said I'm leaving now."

Still no answer.

"Mom, Dad?" Sakura curiously opened the door to her parents' room and the sight that greeted her made her let out a scream.


	2. Mental Shock

Author's Note: I will sometimes add "outtakes" at the end of a chapter. These are just little spoofs on the story, and me poking fun at my own work. Weither or not there will be one at the end of this chapter, I'm not sure.  
Yuugi-chan

The scene that greeted Sakura was one that would be burned in her brain for all enternity. Blood was smeared and spattered all over the walls and ceiling, and the sight of it rendered Sakura's brain useless. She couldn't move, she couldn't run, she couldn't even turn away. All she could do was just stand there, staring...

Naruto was off somewhere getting some more ramen, so Sasuke was left by himself to wait. Not that he minded. Gave him a chance for some peace in quiet away from Naruto. He was just about to close his eyes to blot out the world when a blood-curdling scream reached his ears. 'Great,' he thought, 'what did Sakura get herself into this time? Probably saw a mouse or a spider.' Nevertheless, he still went in to see what caused the commotion.  
When he opened the door, the smell of blood hung heavily in the air. The scene was all too familiar, almost too familiar. Sasuke shook his head to rid himself of the memory. Sakura had collapsed to her knees and sat there silently, tears running down her face.  
"Hey, Sasuke, Sakura, where are you?" Naruto had come back and was shoving food into his face while he called to them.  
Sasuke popped his head out a window. "Naruto, get Kakashi!" he called down.  
Naruto looked up, "Why don't you do it yourself?" he whined.  
Sasuke glared at him, "Just go!"  
"No."  
Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh and threw a shuriken at Naruto's feet. Naruto jumped back a bit.  
"All right, all right, I'm going! Geez."

By this point, Sakura was in a mental shock. She was shaking her parents and telling them to quit playing around.  
"Come on Sakura, they're dead, there's nothing we can do for them now," Sasuke said, walking out of the room.  
She heard his voice, but just barely. Like it was a small echo in the depths of space. She turned around and looked at him.  
"They're- they're not really dead, are they?" She asked, hardly audiable.  
Sasuke turned his head away and said nothing. He didn't want to see any more.  
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------

Outtakes:

Saskue throws the shuriken and it hits Naruto  
Naruto: Xx  
Sasuke: not really caring Oops...

Sakura: They're- they're not really dead, are they?  
Sasuke takes out a stick and pokes at the bodies  
Sasuke: Yup, they're dead.  
Sakura: 0o You call that consolation?!  
Soundfx: Baff Bash Clobber  
Sasuke: Ouch...  
---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------

Author's End Note: I'm sorry if I didn't make Sasuke more Sasuke-like, but I haven't read the manga that long so, meh. :/


	3. Memories Hurt

Chapter 3:

"Sakura, we can't stay here any longer, let's go," Saskue said, pulling Sakura to her feet. The blood-tainted air was getting to him.

"NO! MOM! DAD! THEY NEED MY HELP! PLEASE!" Sakura was screaming now, running to her parents' lifeless bodies.

"Sakura, no!" Sasuke grabbed her by the arm, meaning to pull her out of the room, but he made the mistake of looking back…

_"Why did you do this?!"_

_"To see what I was capable of."_

_"To see what you were capable of?"_

Sasuke felt his blood boil in rage, in hate, and in despair…

_"Baby brother, you're pathetic. If you want to kill me, settle for hating me until you can! Hate me and live. Like the coward you are! Clinging to life without honor!"_

"Sasuke-kun, my arm… That really hurts."

Sasuke looked down. He was holding on to Sakura's arm so tight that his knuckles were white. He let go of her arm and shook his head violently.

Kakashi appeared on the blood-stained windowsill.

"What's going on? The exercise hasn't even started and you're all ready in, oh god…"

Kakashi scanned the room. 'This is not good. They should have gone straight to the hokage instead of me.'

"Hey, what's going on up there?" Naruto was back, now breathless. Apparently, Kakashi had forgotten about the student who sent for him.

"Naruto, you might not want to come up here, seeing as you just ate," Kakashi called back down to him. "Sasuke, take Sakura away from here, I'll inform Lord Hokage."

Sasuke nodded shakily and lead Sakura out of her house by the arm. Surprisingly, she went without a fight this time. Almost as if in a trance.

Naruto saw Kakashi disappear from the windowsill just as his two teammates came out the door.

Seeing a blood-spattered Sakura, he asked what was happened. Sakura weakly lifted her head up and only said, "They're dead…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outtakes:

Kakashi appears on the windowsill and slips on a puddle of blood and falls out of the house onto Naruto

Sasuke and Sakura: --'

Kakashi looks around the room

Kakashi: Now, now, let's not lose our heads over this- sees the headless bodies oh.


	4. Something's Wrong

"It's about time you guys got here," Ino said, hands on her hips. "I was waiting for almost a half an hour!"

Sasuke looked up with a grimace on his face. Did she have any remorse? Did she _even _notice that both him and Naruto were holding Sakura up because she was in too much shock to walk?

It didn't take long for Naruto to figure out what was going on when Sakura and Sasuke came out of the house. They would have been at the woods sooner had Sasuke not had to take some time to recollect himself.

"So what took you so long?" Ino demanded.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other. _She really must be blind!_ Naruto nodded over in Ino's direction, indicating that he would take care of the matter so Sasuke didn't have a nervous breakdown. Sasuke shifted his weight as Naruto let go of Sakura and walked towards Ino.

Sasuke sat down under a tree and apparently forgot that he was still supporting Sakura and almost fell over.

"Hey, Sakura. Snap out of it," he said lightly shaking her shoulder.

Sakura stirred and looked around. She was quite pale, almost white, and when she noticed Sasuke was sitting next to her, she pushed away and ran to the bushes.

Sasuke looked her way and quickly turned his head away. Sakura was violently retching into the brush.

Naruto was walking back with Ino closely behind. She spotted Sasuke and literally jumped on him.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright? Naruto told me about the ordeal you had to go through and-"

Sasuke was not in the best of moods and having Ino hugging him around the waist did nothing to improve his temper.

"GET OFF OF ME!" he shouted, shoving her a good three feet back.

"But Sasuke-kun," she protested.

"Would you just leave me alone?"

He got up and walked to the bushes where Sakura whose stomach was empty, was coughing up dry heaves. He looked at her then shook his head. She wasn't handling her parents' death not all well. Then again, neither did he, and they weren't even his parents.

He noticed Ino was following him and he turned around and glared at her. Weren't Ino and Sakura supposed to be best friends? If they were, Ino wasn't doing a very good job of showing it, she was so infatuated with him that she still hadn't noticed Sakura who was now on the ground covered in a cold sweat and panting heavily.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto asked.

Sakura hugged him so hard that Naruto had to sit down to keep her from tipping him over. Sasuke turned his head away and looked up in the trees. That's when he noticed something was wrong…


	5. Old Friend

Author's Note: Okay, Orochimaru finally appears in this chapter! -trumpet fanfare- Anyways, I hope… -trumpet fanfare gets cut off because Iori mauls the players down- Iori: Orochi?! Where?! -looks around-

Yuugi-chan: I said Orochimaru! Not Orochi, you idiot!!! -conks him over the head with the hardback edition of Three Kingdoms-

Iori: You –inappropriate word-!!! I'll kill you for that!!

Yuugi-chan: Yeah, sure you will. I can just hit the backspace button and delete you from existence!!!

Iori: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yuugi-chan: -presses backspace button-

Iori: -deleted out of the story-

Yuugi-chan: As I was saying, enjoy chapter 5!!

"Shit!" Sasuke swore to himself. "EVERYONE! GET MOVING! NOW!"

"What for?" Naruto and Ino asked simultaneously.

"What's it matter, get going!" Sasuke sped past them.

"Oi, wait up you bastard!" Naruto said, running after him, shaking his fist.

"Sasuke-kun's not a bastard!" Ino said, running alongside him.

"I thought we'd never find you!" Naruto said, exasperated. "What got you so wound up? Did you see an ant?"

Sasuke glared at him, "Ha ha, very funny. If anybody would be running away, it would be-"

Sasuke stopped and looked around. Mentally, he slapped himself, "Did any of you even bother taking Sakura with you?"

Naruto looked at Ino, and Ino looked at Sasuke, "Sakura's here?"

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Well, of course she was here! She was the one vomiting in the bushes, remember?"

"Someone was vomiting in the bushes?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Forget it."

"Damn," Naruto cursed. "Damn, damn, damn! I'M COMING SAKURA-CHAN!!!!!!!!!"

A few minutes later, Naruto came back.

"Where's Sakura?" Ino asked.

"She wasn't there!"

"Why?"

"How the hell should I know?! Speaking of which, where did that bastard go?"

"I said don't call him a bastard!" Ino said, whacking him on the head.

"What are you guys shouting for?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke-kun, I was so worried!" Ino said, running towards him.

Sasuke stepped out of the way and Ino wound up crashing into a tree.

"She's almost as bad as you Naruto."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what it sounds like."

"Grrrr… Hey, who's that you're carrying?"

"Whom does it look like? Sakura."

"But I just went there and she wasn't there. So how'd you find her?"

"You ran the wrong way, that's why you couldn't find her."

"Oh."

"Hey, guys! Over here! There's someone in this tree!" Ino called over to them.

Naruto ran over and looked up. "Hey, isn't this the guy we met in the exam?"

Orochimaru looked down and narrowed his eyes. "Well, giving me the cold-shoulder Sasuke? Is that any way to greet an old friend?"


	6. A Living Hell

Author's Note: Yes, Orochimaru actually does something in this chapter.

Yuugi-chan: Steps on a rubber snake

Rubber Snake: Squeak

Orochimaru comes running in and grabs the rubber snake

Orochimaru: You killed him! You killed fluffy!

Yuugi-chan: Raises an eyebrow Fluffy?

Orochimaru: Sobbing while hugging the rubber snake How could you do something this horrible? My life is now worthless! Wah, come back to me Mr. Fluffy!

Yuugi-chan: Oh so now it's Mr. Fluffy?

Orochimaru: Still on floor crying while clutching the snake

Yuugi-chan: Looks at audience then quickly glances at Orochimaru Um, please ignore the strange man sobbing in the corner.

Orochimaru: Mr. Fluffy!

All the Sound ninjas coming running in and start performing a funeral ritual.

Yuugi-chan: Looks back at them Okay, now this is getting bizarre…

Yuugi-chan

P.S. I added Ino in because I absolutely despise her. I wanted Sasuke to snap at her a lot and it also creates a love triangle.

* * *

Sasuke stumbled backwards from the shock.

"How'd you regain use of your arms?" he asked.

Orochimaru smirked, "I have my ways."

He looked down at Sakura.

"Ah you're the one who gave my sound ninjas trouble and temporarily stopped the curse seal. You could prove useful in the future."

Sasuke's eyes widened. He knew what Orochimaru was going to do. Orochimaru elongated his neck and aimed to bite the girl on the young ninja's back.

"Oh no you don't!" Sasuke shoved his arm in the way, Orochimaru's jaws closing down upon it. "If you touch even one hair on her head, you will regret it." Sasuke glared daggers.

Orochimaru returned back to his normal state.

"It seems I've hit a nerve. Does this girl mean _that_ much to you?"

Sasuke spat on the ground, "You wish. My only goal is to get my revenge. That is the only thing I care about."

"Then give me the girl."

Ino, whose first reaction was to kill the pale-skinned man, threw shurkiens at the enemy, not knowing the damage he could cause. Orochimaru, of course, easily dodged.

"And you're the girl that thinks she's strong, but has to rely on other people's bodies."

Naruto, who had stayed quiet for the longest time finally spoke. "What do you want with Sakura-chan anyway? And what was that _little gift_ were talking about?"

Orochimaru smirked down at him, "Well well, if it isn't the nine-tailed fox demon brat."

"You didn't answer my question!"

"Still as dense as you used to be. The one you call Sakura, as I've said before, could prove useful since she's able to control the curse. Now the gift, ah, now that's different. You see, I'm the one that just made her life a living hell."

"You don't mean…"

"You're catching on little fox."

During this whole conversation, nobody noticed Sakura pull out Sasuke's wind shurkien, not even Sasuke himself.

She jumped off the ninja's back making Sasuke lose his balance and fall over. She snapped the shurkien in place and flew straight at Orochimaru and threw the Shurkien at his head. It hit its target. Blood splattered everywhere.

Everyone was stunned for a moment while she tore the shuriken out of the body.

"All right! Way to go Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke just stood there gaping. Ino took this chance to pounce on Sasuke, but Sasuke deftly stepped aside, resulting in Ino ramming straight into the tree.

"I'm not _that_ off guard."

"Whoo-hoo! Nobody stands a chance against Sakura-chan!" Naruto happily shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

Sasuke noticed she was still tense, ready to jump on anything that moved. _Odd,_ he thought, _I don't sense any strange chakra. So why is she still ready to strike?_

Naruto was still happily dancing around until Sakura whipped her head around a fiercely whispered, "Quiet you moron! That was just a doppelganger. A very good flesh and blood copy too. Almost an exact duplicate and- THERE!"

She threw the shurkien into the dense woods. The shurkien came hurtling back and Sasuke grabbed it, realizing it was his. Sakura, on the other hand, was glaring up at one of the trees.

"You're smarter than you look. It seems that not even the Uchiha prodigy could tell that it was a doppelganger. Perhaps he's losing his touch, hmmm?"

Sasuke flinched. That hurt.

Sakura quickly climbed up the tree and stood at the very top. Orochimaru followed close behind.

"You cannot escape me!"

"Wanna' bet?" And she disappeared without a trace.

* * *

Outtakes:

The wind shurkien comes hurtling back and Sasuke reaches to grab it. He misses and it slices off his hand.

Sasuke: Gah! My hand! My hand!

Ino: That's must hurt.

Sakura: And this is the infamous Uchiha Sasuke?

Naruto: Pity.

Sasuke: Don't just stand there! Do something! This is really painful!

* * *

Orochimaru: You cannot escape me!

Sakura: Wanna' bet?

Nothing happens.

Sakura: C'mon work you stupid jutsu!

Orochimaru: If you're quite finished…

Sasuke: Does she even realize she's doing it wrong.

12 hours later…

Sakura's still trying.

Orochimaru: That's it, I'm going home.

Sakura: Wait, I almost got it!

Orochimaru: Forget it.

Everyone else-'


	7. Don't Act Like Someone You're Not

Author's Note: Reading back on my stories, I realized that my first is more light-hearted than the second, but that just might be because I don't really want much humor in the sequel (hence, no outtakes). Anyways, enjoy chapter seven!

Giant mob of sound ninjas stampede towards her with Orochimaru leading them. All are carrying pitchforks.

Orochimaru: DIE! YOU KILLED MR. FLUFFY!

Yuugi-chan: Looks at them strangely. He has a whole village of ninjas and yet he equips them with pitchforks?

Orochimaru charges towards her and trips over a rock. He starts attacking the rock.

Orochimaru: How dare you get in the way of my line of attack!

Yuugi-chan: Rolls eyes at him. Yup, he's finally snapped.

Yuugi-chan

* * *

Orochimaru left soon after, but not before giving Sasuke a glare that sent a sharp pain down his back from the seal. Naruto pursued him, not wanting him to get away. He left his raven-haired friend clutching the back of his neck and groaning in pain.

Ino was trying to comfort him, but she wasn't making any progress, if anything, she made things worse.

"Sasuke-kun, please let me help you," she pleaded, putting a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke recoiled from her touch as if it burned his skin.

"Don't touch me," he said with as much venom in his voice as he could muster before collapsing to the ground.

"But Sasuke-kun," she protested.

"Leave me alone."

"But-"

The seal was slowly snaking its way around his body.

"Ino, get away from him!" Naruto shouted, walking back slowly. He had lost Orochimaru's trail.

"Naruto, can't you see he's in pain?" she asked.

"Trust me on this one, if stay that close, he'll attack you!"

"No, I don't think he would."

"Please Ino, he'll show you no mercy! Even I can't approach him with out getting sent flying back ten feet!"

"Forget it Naruto! If Sakura could approach him in this state, then so can I!"

She reached to shake his shoulder.

"Ino! No! Sakura's the only one who can control him right now!"

She paid no, heed. She placed her hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Come on Sasuke-kun, snap out of it," she said, shaking him.

Sasuke was trying to control himself, but as soon as she finished her sentence, his arm automatically hit her, causing her to collide into Naruto.

"You're not Sakura, so quit acting like you are!" he snapped.

Naruto looked in the direction of the emotionally disturbed boy. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from the middle of the woods.

"I can't believe he actually fell for that," a voice from above panted.

Everyone looked up. There stood Sakura with burns, cuts, gashes, and blood all over her. She coughed up blood; she was apparently injured internally also. She coughed up more of it, leaving a metallic taste in her mouth. Sasuke was not showing any emotional relief at her return. The seal had spread to cover his face and was now working its way around his arms. As Sakura coughed again, the blood landed on Sasuke. He froze and stared at the blood. Naruto could detect bloodlust around him.

"Ino, run!" Naruto shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her twenty feet back and into a tree.

"What about Sakura?" she asked, for once actually noticing her friend.

"She'll be fine! Just stay here no matter what happens! Just let Sakura take care of this."

Sasuke couldn't contain it any longer and he snapped. He immediately jumped up into the tree and glared at Sakura.

"Where the hell is he?" he snarled.

Sakura didn't lose her composure, but her vision was getting blurry from blood loss. She looked up at him and smiled.

"I don't know, probably off nursing his wounds somewhere."

Sasuke was not happy with that answer. He was about to growl something in reply, but he caught a hint of movement in the corner of his eye. Ino had jumped down from the tree thinking she could help, despite Naruto's protests. Sasuke's first instinct was too attack…

* * *

Outtakes:

The curse seal covers Sasuke's face.

Ino: Hey, no fair! How come he gets instant tattoos?

Sakura slaps a hand to her forehead and gives an exasperated sigh.

Naruto: I want one too!


	8. Apologies in an Embrace

Author's Note: Yes, I update fast! Anyways, I'm really glad you guys are all enjoying the story so far. Sorry Orochimaru's note here. When he was fighting the rock, the rock won…

Yuugi-chan

_Italics- thoughts

* * *

_

"Sasuke-kun, stop!" Ino and Sakura said simultaneously. Sasuke paid no heed, his eyes ablaze and his brain set only for the intent to kill. Naruto knew better than to join the chaos that was ensuing and add fuel to Sasuke's fire, so he stayed in the tree out of Sasuke's line of sight. Ino still thought she could help and went head on for Sasuke.

"Ino, no! Don't do that! He'll kill you on contact!" Sakura screamed towards her best friend. "No he won't!" she replied. "Ino, forget your pride and just get away from here!" Sakura cried back. Ino kept on running. _Shit! What can I do? I can't let Sasuke hurt Ino, but I can't help her if she's just going to keep jumping headlong into this. Come on Sakura! Think! _Sakura couldn't think of anything with her blood loss and her brain didn't even seem to function anymore. Sakura had to rely on her instincts. She jumped from the tree in between her two friends. She braced herself as she stuck out both her arms and placed them on Sasuke's chest to prevent him from continuing forward. The impact made Sakura dig her heels into the ground.

"Sakura, move out of the way. She will pay!" Sasuke snarled. It seemed his brain was entirely working either. "Sasuke-kun, stop it! She didn't do anything!" Sakura said, straining to hold her ground. "Sakura, I said move!" "And I said no!" Her vision was starting to blur more and wasn't coming back into focus again. Sasuke pulled a kunai out and flung it at Ino. Ino tried to avoid it, but it hit her in the arm. Sasuke pulled out another one to try again. He was just about to throw it when Sakura grabbed ahold of his wrist.

"Sakura, let go!" he growled. She shook her head in response. "That's enough," she whispered. Tears were forming at the corners of his eyes. "She will die!" Sasuke said, wrenching his hand free from Sakura's grasp. Again, he aimed to throw the kunai. _Why? Why can't I reach him anymore? I don't think I can do anything more… _Sakura's brain went on autopilot. She wrapped his arms around his back and held on to his shoulders.

"Please, that's enough. No more. Please, no more…" she sobbed, burying her head into his shoulder. Sasuke's arm stopped in mid-throw as something in his head clicked. "Just stop it. That's enough. No more bloodshed, no more pain. Please, no more." She held him tighter as he looked down at her. The kunai automatically dropped out of his hand and it landed on the ground, forgotten. Ino was watching the scene in awe. Naruto saw his chance. He jumped down from the tree, pulled the kunai out of Ino's arm while she was distracted and dragged her a safe distance away despite her protests and complaints of pain.

The curse seal faded and Sasuke's eyes turned back to the color of onyx. The first thing he noticed was that Sakura was crying, and her tear-streaked face pained him. He subconsciously wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to cry into him. Sasuke laid a hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry Sakura. I didn't mean to lose control. I didn't mean to cause you pain," he said softly still in the embrace. Ino was turning green with envy as Naruto poked at her punctured arm and digging through Sakura's first-aid kit even though he didn't have the faintest idea on what to clean the wound out with. Ino jerked away and started towards the couple. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. He knew it was not a good idea to disturb his raven-haired teammate when he was emotional. He had found this put the hard way from personal experience. Ino gave a low growl in frustration and reluctantly sat back down.

Meanwhile, Sakura looked up at Sasuke with eyes red from crying and smiled at him.

"Oh good," she said, "you're back to normal." And then the world turned into a blur and she collapsed.

* * *

Author's End Note: There's the SasuSaku moment you all have been waiting for. Don't worry; there will be more. Reading back, it's seems I've made Sasuke OOC, but I guess he might be like that during all his moments with Sakura as he is opening up to her more (at least in this story anyway). Sorry guys, I couldn't think if any good outtakes for this chapter, as it's a lot more serious than the previous ones. Hope you're currently satisfied with this xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx until the next SasuSaku moment pops up (did you respond to my e-mail?). 


	9. Sleeping by Instinct

Author's Note: SasuSaku moments abound! After eight chapters before giving you the first one, it's only fair I give you more in the tenth chapter (since I only gave you one in chapter nine). Anyways, I really have nothing to say expect enjoy the story (I'm not going to bother trying to bore you with my ramblings today).

Yuugi-chan

_Italics- flashbacks

* * *

_

Sakura woke up to the hissing and crackling of a fire. She shakily sat up on the blankets she was just recently sleeping on. Both Ino, Naruto, and even Sasuke were eating ramen around the fire in a circle.

"Where am I?" Sakura asked the first thing that popped into her head. Three sets of heads snapped around to look at her.

"Sakura-chan's awake!" Naruto happily cried, leaping up to give her a hug. He was immediately grabbed by the back of his jacket. "Hey, let me go Sasuke-bastard!" he shouted, struggling to get free from his grasp. Ino conked Naruto on the head after shouting that Sasuke was not a bastard. Sasuke gave both of them annoyed looks and gave an exasperated sigh. He looked over to Sakura.

"We're in the forest. It's around eight p.m. You've been sleeping for over twelve hours," he replied. Sakura nodded and tried to stand up but immediately clutched her side in pain. "You haven't fully recovered, so you should just stay where you are for now." Sakura nodded again and flopped back down on the blankets. She looked over to her best friend.

"Oi, Ino," she said, "who bandaged your arm?" Ino gave a harsh glare in Naruto's direction. Naruto put on his fox-like grin while scratching the back of his head. "No wonder. Ino, come over here with the first-aid kit so I can bandage your arm properly."

As Sakura bandaged Ino's arm Naruto asked, "Why was there an explosion in the forest?" Sakura looked at him as she remembered the scene.

* * *

_Sakura was running through the forest trying to lose the pursuing Orochimaru. She never did. Realizing it was hopeless to keep on running, she slapped explosion notes on every few trees, the spell set to explode when her enemy reached a certain point. He caught her a short while after, putting jutsus on her that pained her from the inside so she wouldn't escape as easily. She eventually freed herself by stabbing a kunai in his shoulder, which, in turn, made Orochimaru jump back, setting off the chain if explosion notes in the process. Unfortunately, Sakura couldn't escape in time because of the internal jutsu, causing her to get caught in the blast of her own trap…

* * *

_

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura called into the darkness.

"Hai?" he responded after relighting the fire with a jutsu, lighting up the night. Being the only one who knew how to perform such a jutsu, he was put in charge of tending to the fire.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mumbling could be heard from a half-asleep Naruto, asking if Sakura meant physically or mentally. A resounding smack from Ino caused Naruto to shut his mouth as both Sasuke and Sakura flinched as they heard the impact. "As I was saying, are you sure you're okay?"

"You really should worry about yourself. You're in no position to be asking me about my health in the state you're currently in now," Sasuke said, walking over to Sakura. Sakura was about to protest, but was cut short by a fit of coughing that resulted in blood dripping down her lips. Sasuke mentally cursed. He was sure that he'd gotten rid of that cough. Sakura wiped her mouth with her bandaged arm and looked over to Sasuke who had sat down next to her. Sakura gave him a quizzical look, but did not press the matter further. A few moments later, snores could be heard from Naruto. Sasuke muttered under his breath about something to do with Naruto not giving him any peace even at night. Sakura smiled slightly at this, but it was soon contorted into an expression of pain. She groaned as Orochimaru's jutsu took affect again. Sasuke gave her a look of concern. Sakura gave a small whimper of helplessness as a wave of pain washed over her, burning her insides. Sasuke leaned over and shook her shoulder, saying something Sakura couldn't make out because of the overwhelming burning.

Sakura immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, looking around desperately, hoping Sasuke would get the hint. She was too weak to move out of the way, even though she wanted to. Sasuke recognized the hint, but not soon enough. Sakura leaned over and vomited blood on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke grimaced. She looked up at him and gave him a tired, but apologetic, look. She looked on the verge of tears. Sasuke shook his head indicating that it was no big deal. Sasuke pitied the poor girl; she'd been having a rough time since this morning. Sasuke sighed and took off his shirt, he'd figure out what to do with it in the morning.

Under normal circumstances, Sakura would have blushed outright while celebrating in her head. Sakura, instead, gave him a vacant look as she lay back down. Sasuke looked over to the dying fire. He stood up to clear away the ash and ignite the embers, but he felt a tight grip on his wrist. Sakura gave him a pleading look as he looked down at her. Though he'd never admit it, the sight just melted his heart. Typically, he'd call this look "pathetic".

"It hurts. It really hurts," she moaned. "Please help me. I don't think I can stand it much longer." Sasuke sighed and sat back down, picking her up and placing her head in his lap. "G-Gomen Sasuke-kun." She silently started crying.

"Don't cry. It pains me to see you cry," he said rather awkwardly. The words tasted foreign to him. He was unconsciously running his fingers through her hair, which had gotten long over the years. She buried her head into his chest, trying to absorb as much warmth as possible.

"Why?" she mumbled.

Sasuke opened his mouth, but shut it almost instantly. He wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question. He just grunted in response. Sakura seemed satisfied with the answer as she curled herself up in his lap. Sasuke cursed mentally when he turned a slight shade of pink. Sasuke shivered as a gust in wind hit them. He pulled Sakura closer to him to keep himself warm. Even though he didn't really sleep much at night because of the nightmares he kept having about his brother, he felt his eyelids grow heavy with sleep. He pulled the blankets over him and Sakura and rested his head in the crook of her neck. In just a few minutes, he was fast asleep in that position.

* * *

Naruto wasn't really asleep. He was worried about Sakura even though he knew Sasuke wouldn't let anything harm her. He watched as the couple fell asleep in each other's arms by instinct. A small smile played across his lips. He didn't feel any jealously towards his teammate, he had given up on Sakura two years ago, and he had his eyes set on Hinata now ever since she got the courage to tell him that she liked him. He was happy Ino wasn't awake to witness this. He'd be mutilated if she were. Unfortunately, that thought didn't last very long when he found Ino strangling him to vent her anger because she saw the whole thing also. The only words Naruto managed to choke out were, "Help me…"

* * *

Author's End Note: Yes, Sasuke turned OOC yet again, so I'm not going to restate it in the rest of the story. It'll just be implied. Naruto's also OOC, but that will change sooner or later. Oh yes, I was going to have this set in the manga timeline, but it would be really wrong to have them at fourteen in the sequel, so they're about sixteen in this story. It's not exactly AU, but it doesn't follow the manga timeline either, but hey, you're not supposed to think that far.

P.S. Yes, I made this chapter longer…


	10. The First Effects of the Seal

**Author's Note: If you are also reading the sequel, this chapter is the first appearance of the cursed seal's control over Sasuke.**

**Yuugi-chan**

**

* * *

**

The young couple woke up to the sound of arguing. A fight was raging between the team's two other members.

"I'll kill her!" a furious Ino screeched.

"That's not a very good idea. Just leave them alone for now!" a struggling Naruto said as he tried pulling Ino back by the arm.

Sasuke couldn't stand the noise, plus he had a bloody shirt he now had to take care of. Gently poking Sakura awake, he stood up. The argument suddenly stopped.

"Stay here Sakura. It's still not good to stand up in your condition and- oof!" Sasuke had the wind knocked out of him, cutting the rest of his sentence off. Ino had sprung upon him dragging the confused Naruto behind him. Weither it was the impact of Ino landing on him or the combined weight of her and his blond teammate that caused him to fall over, no one will ever know. Sasuke landed face first in the dirt.

"All of you get off me this instant!" Sasuke demanded, his voice muffled in the dirt.

"Ah! Gomen Sasuke-kun!" Ino chirped, sliding off him.

Sasuke lifted himself up off the ground and spat out a clump of dirt that had collected in his mouth when he landed. Snickering could be heard from behind him. Sakura was trying her best to stifle her laughter, but couldn't contain it for very long and was soon doubling over in laughter. Sasuke gave her a small glare and spat out more dirt. Once Sasuke deemed his tongue to be dirt-free, he picked up his shirt, planning to take it to a large pool of water.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura, being covered in blood, went to wash the grime off her body. She heard a rustle behind her and immediately punched the person in the nose.

"Naruto, you hentai! You're as bad as Kakashi-sensei! You little pervert!" she fumed as the victim of her punch tumbled into the water.

Sasuke poked his head out of the water rubbing his sore nose. He sweat dropped when he saw Sakura still accusing Naruto, now spouting obscenities out of her mouth. Sasuke made to get out of the pool, but Sakura heard the noise behind her and knocked the poor boy over the head and back under the water. Sasuke gave her an annoyed look when he popped his head out of the water once again. Sakura immediately stopped her tirade of colorful words.

"Ah! Gomen! Gomen! I didn't mean it Sasuke-kun! Gomen!" she frantically apologized.

Sasuke had turned bright red when he saw Sakura and turned around, his back facing her, to spare her some dignity. Sakura quickly got the concept of the gesture and immediately reached for her clothes. She gulped when she found out they weren't there.

"Um, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, submerging herself so only she could be seen from the neck up.

"Hai?" came the reply as the boy wrung out his wet, but clean shirt.

"My clothes are gone…"

"Sakura, I already know you're undressed. Don't announce it to the world."

"No Sasuke-kun. I can't find them!"

Sasuke mentally cursed. "What do you mean you can't find them?"

"They're just not there anymore."

Sasuke did a retake. He let out a colorful swear word Sakura had never heard before and plastered an angry look on his face. "I'll kill her…"

* * *

"That's just low Ino," Naruto stated when Ino came back with Sakura's clothes.

"Serves her right," Ino replied. "By the way, where'd Sasuke-kun go?"

"He left for the pool to wash off his shirt about the same time Sakura left. That's why she needs her clothes. Sasuke's going to kill you when he finds out about this."

She was about to open her mouth in reply, but suddenly, an angry Sasuke came storming out dragging Sakura, who was now temporarily borrowing his shirt, by the wrist. Naruto ran and hid. Sasuke stopped in front of the blond girl.

"Give it back," he snarled.

"Give what back?" she asked innocently.

**_Smack! _**A hand slapped Ino's face forcefully.

"I'll ask you again. Where did you put them?"

Ino was now sobbing. Her beloved Sasuke-kun had smacked her.

"Answer me!"

"Why do you care so much for her and not somebody more skilled?"

Sasuke smacked her again, "Maybe because she doesn't act like a stuck-up little brat! Now where are her clothes?"

Ino pointed to her bag. Sakura ran over, grabbed her clothes and disappeared out of sight. A few seconds later, she came out fully-clothed and with Sasuke's shirt. She tossed it over to him and he caught it. He gave a final glare at Ino, put on his shirt, and grabbed Sakura. She gave him a quizzical look and it was returned with a piercing stare.

"I need to speak to you. Alone," he snarled out.

* * *

Sakura looked at him and jerked away when she saw a crazed look in his eyes. He grabbed her by the back of her clothes and pinned her against a tree. She made to punch him, but he swiftly caught her wrist. Sakura looked up at him in fear as the seal slowly spread.

"Please let go!" she pleaded to her teammate.

She got no response except a look of lust. He brought his wrist up to his mouth and kissed it, his eyes never leaving hers. Sakura became more desperate to escape when he gave her wrist a small nip. She started crying.

"Nani?" Naruto said in disbelief. "Baka!" He sent a blow to Sasuke's face and pulled Sakura towards him when she was released.

Sasuke seemed to have snapped out of his rampage and he put a hand to his forehead.

"My head feels like it's going to split in two…" he groaned. He walked over to his two teammates. Sakura buried herself deeper into Naruto's arms.

"She's afraid of you Sasuke," Naruto explained.

"But I didn't mean to. I-" Sasuke answered back but was cut short by Naruto.

"I know. She knows. She's just frightened, that's all. I think she'll come through." Just then, his stomach growled. "Eh-heh-heh. I need breakfast. Ramen, here I come!"

Sasuke sweat dropped and looked at Sakura.

"Ah, Sakura, I couldn't control it. I don't know what's going on. Gomen," he said as he reached out to touch her. She pulled away and turned her back to him. Sasuke silently crept up and put his arms around her. She jumped in surprised and tried to scramble away. "Gomen Sakura. Gomen…" Sakura stopped and looked at him. He was… crying. She had the sudden urge to comfort him. She reached up and wiped away a tear.

"Don't cry Sasuke-kun. It pains me to see you cry," she said. He looked at her as she gave him a small smile. Naruto barging in and shoving ramen in their faces interrupted their moment. Sasuke and Sakura shared the same thoughts… _damn!

* * *

_

Outtakes:

Sasuke falls face first in the dirt and suddenly gags.

Sasuke: Ugh, I think I just swallowed an earthworm…

Naruto: I heard they're supposed to taste good. Mind if I try one?

Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino all sweat drop.

* * *

**Author's End Note: That chapter is probably my worst yet, but I'm running low on ideas. Basically, I have absolutely no idea where this is going… xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx, help!**


	11. Promises are Meant to be Broken

**Author's Note: Sorry for making you guys wait, but a lot of things have been going on in my life. Anyways enjoy!**

**Sasuke: You forgot the disclaimer.**

**Yuugi-chan: I don't do the disclaimer, but if you want it so bad, then you can say it.**

**Sasuke: Naruto belongs Hinata.**

**Yuugi-chan: (picks him up by the shirt) Wrong answer (Smack)!**

**Sasuke: Naruto belongs to Yuugi-chan.**

**Yuugi-chan: I wish, but still, wrong answer (Smack)!**

**Sasuke: (Now has a giant red handprint on his face) Naruto belongs to Masashi Kisimoto.**

**Yuugi-chan: Good boy! Here's a yummy (pats him on the head)!**

**Sasuke: (whimpers) Please don't hurt me…

* * *

**

Ino was back to her old flirty self and continued her usual antics of trying to earn Sasuke's affections (unsuccessfully might I add). It was around lunchtime and they had made good time.

"Oi, Ino-pig! It's your turn to make the meal!" Sakura called over to her.

"I know that forehead girl!" she spat back.

While Naruto was gathering firewood, Sasuke found his mind wandering back towards that morning's incident. Sakura caught him blushing when she turned around to look at him. He shook his head violently to rid himself of the image. No matter how much he hated it, he had to admit she was very beautiful, especially when she wasn't wearing anything. Sasuke scolded his train of thought. It was his fault that he happened to be a teenage boy with hormones, was it? Sakura noticed him blushing yet again and walked over to him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked as she sat down next to him. He looked at her.

"You," he replied, but soon berated himself for saying so.

"Nani?" she asked in shock. "Did I just hear you correctly?"

Sasuke turned his head away yet again because he was now the color of one of his few favorite foods; a tomato.

"Oi, Sasuke-bastard! I've had the firewood set out ages ago! Are you going to set it alight or not?" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke sighed as he walked over to do so.

* * *

"Um, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura shyly asked as the four-person group munched on the cooked fish that Sakura had caught while Sasuke and Naruto were arguing over who would dive in the water to catch fish this time around.

"Hai?" he replied, looking up.

"Don't eat with your mouth full!" Naruto shouted, his mouth also full of food. The three other ninjas rolled their eyes at him.

"Anyways, as I was saying, why did you do that this morning?"

"Do what?" Ino asked. Naruto gave her a worried look. The other two ignored her question. Sasuke put his fish down. All of a sudden, he just didn't feel like eating.

"I don't know," he mumbled, looking at the ground as if he found something interesting about it.

"Is it that you don't know, or that you don't want to tell me?"

"I want to tell you, but I'm afraid I can't."

"Sasuke-kun…"

"The seal lets out desires best left alone. That's all I can say."

"I know but,"

"I suggest you do your best to avoid me from here on out. I don't know what I'll do, nor if I can control it."

"You know I can't do that."

"Please Sakura. Stay away from me. Just please listen to me."

Sakura looked down at the ground. She looked as if she was about to cry.

"I want to help you," she said.

"I can't be helped," he replied.

"I want to save you."

"I can't be saved. Nothing can be done Sakura. Nothing."

She slowly inched towards him until she embraced him.

"Sakura…"

"Then please just do one thing for me. Promise me you won't leave."

Sasuke looked down at his teammate. He held he tighter and let out a breath through clenched teeth.

"I'll try Sakura. I'll try," he said, closing his eyes, "but everyone knows promises are meant to be broken. Especially when they're mine…"


	12. None of Your Concern

_Italics-thoughts_

"Nani? What's going on?" in asked in a demanding tone. "What did Sasuke-kun do?" Sakura thought back to the morning and buried her head in Sasuke's chest, hoping that his smell would make her forget. Sasuke looked at Naruto and Naruto looked back at Sasuke. Naruto mouthed, "What should I do?" Sasuke shrugged and ran his fingers through Sakura's hair. "Well, aren't you going to tell me?" Ino huffed, hands on her hips. Naruto sighed.

"Sasuke advanced on her," he replied.

"Nani?"

"You heard me."

"I know that, but I don't understand what you mean." Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. _She's rather thick, isn't she? _Sakura nodded into his shirt, as if she knew what he was thinking, and she probably did.

"Sasuke tried to force himself on her," Naruto said softly.

"Huh?" Ino said, not sure if she had heard him correctly.

"Ino, he tried to rape her."

"That's a lie!"

"No it's not." Ino turned to the other boy.

"Sasuke-kun, please tell me that it's not true," she begged. Sasuke turned his head away and looked at the ground to avoid meeting her eyes.

"I wish I could," he muttered under his breath. Sakura shuddered and clutched onto his shirt.

"Sakura, is that true?" Ino asked. Sakura didn't reply. "Sakura?"

"…"

"Is it?" Sakura swallowed and nodded, her eyes starting to brim with tears. They were all quiet for a moment until Sakura stood up and started walking away from them.

"Oi, Sakura, where are you going?" Sasuke asked, turning his head around to look at her. Sakura looked back over her shoulder.

"To find Orochimaru," she replied.

"I wouldn't advise that." She turned on him.

"And who are you to tell me what I am and what not to do? Personally, this between him and me! You don't want anyone in your affairs, and I want none in mine! I am not going to just sit around and wait until he shows up! I'm going after him, even if it means that I have to chase him to the ends of the earth!" she shouted and stormed off.

"Oi, Sakura, wait!" Ino called, getting up to go after her. A hand on each side of her grabbed her wrist. The boys pulled her back and shook their heads at her. Saksuke looked back in the direction Sakura was heading in. _She needs some time to herself right now…_


	13. Wait Until You Die

**Author's Note: I'm exhausted. I have a huge summer reading project and finals are all this week. Anyways, I'm slowly dragging through this story, and if I don't get ideas soon, I'll have to take it down. Anyways, enjoy chapter 13.**

**-Yuugi-chan**

_Italics- thoughts

* * *

_

"Orochimaru!" Sakura called out, her voice echoing off the trees. "Show yourself! Come out you bastard so you can pay for what you did to my parents!" The three other ninjas watched from afar. A faint hissing was heard and the ninjas felt something slithering along their feet. Sasuke looked down. There, on the ground, hundreds of snakes were pouring towards the pink-haired girl. Sakura ignored them and listened intently at a louder and deeper hissing from in front of her. A giant snake, exactly like the ones team seven saw in the forest of death, slithered towards her, Orochimaru standing atop the giant serpent's head. Ino, who had been freaking out at the many snakes pooling around them, let out a small scream when she saw the legless creature rearing it's head up at the four of them.

"Ah, Sakura. Finally come to greet me?" Orochimaru asked, a faint hissing noise escaping from him when he finished his sentence.

"I haven't come to greet you, if that's what you think," Sakura retorted, spitting blood out of her mouth.

"Still persistent even after the jutsu I cast on you?"

Sakura wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, "More than ever."

"And I'd of thought with that stunt Sasuke-kun pulled this morning, you have slowed you down somewhat." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What you do to Sasuke-kun doesn't concern me, and vice versa." Sasuke stared at her. _What is she saying? _At a motion from its master, the giant snake lowered its head and the pale-skinned man stepped off and alighted gently on the ground. He disappeared and reappeared in front of the advanced bloodline user.

"Maybe I'm not giving you enough incentive Sasuke," Orochimaru mused, lifting Sasuke's chin up with his index finger.

"Don't touch me," the unnerved Uchiha ground out.

"You're in no position to be giving me orders."

"Let him go Orochimaru!" Sakura commanded. "Your fight's not with him."

"I beg to differ," he literally hissed out. Sasuke clutched the back of his neck in agony.

"Shit, not again!" Orochimaru released him and gave a small smirk.

"Tell me Sasuke," he purred, "what is it that you desire?" Sasuke shook his head forcefully. "Is it to kill the vessel of the nine-tailed fox?" Sasuke groaned loudly in pain, then shook his head again. "Is it defeating your brother what you yearn for right now?" Sasuke fell to his knees, his hands digging deeply into the dirt, needing something to hold on to. "Is it _your _Sakura that you desire?"

"She's not mine!" Sasuke countered.

"Answer me Sasuke." Sasuke gave a forced nod. "That's what I thought."

"You snake."

"You of all people should know that I don't find that an insult." The corner of Sasuke's lip twitched upward in a small smirk.

"You should." Orochimaru spun around and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the giant snake's jaws.

"Nani?" At one point in their conversation, Sasuke had led the snake over towards his previous master with his eyes, and encouraged it to attack.

"Your lessons didn't do to waste, _sensei_," Sasuke said mockingly.

"Hai, but even you can't remain in control for long Sasuke-kun." Again, Sasuke smirked. _He still doesn't realize whom he's dealing with. _

"Maybe not, but my friend thinks otherwise." A noise of tearing flesh could be heard from within the snake. Ripping through the scaly skin was Sakura, covered in the snake's bodily fluids.

"I'm sure you recognize that technique you son of a bitch," seethed Sakura. "Bet you didn't think I could learn a skill just by seeing it done. Now release this jutsu from me before I do the same thing to you."

"That's impossible," replied Orochimaru, not at a grieved at the sight of his serpent mutilated. "Once that jutsu's in effect, it cannot be taken off. At least, not willingly. There are only two ways to stop it. Wait until it tears you apart from the inside, or kill be before it kills you. But, I'm afraid, the latter is also impossible. So we'll just wait it out until your lifeless body hits the ground."

* * *

**Author's End Note: Theoretically, Sakura can perform a jutsu just by seeing it. As states the site NarutoFan:**

**_"Sakura is probably the only Genin that can control Chakra so well so it is never lost or wasted. This gives her total control over her techniques, so she can learn almost any Jutsu if she is shown how it is done."_**


	14. Feel My Wrath

**Author's Note: I've started to dread writing new chapters for this story because I have really absolutely no idea where it's going and I'm badly running out of ideas. As I've said before, I'm really dragging through this and writing these chapters reluctantly. I really need ideas! So, because of this, this chapter will be rather short and this will also be the last. Runs off crying into a corner**

**-Yuugi-chan**

_Italics- thoughts

* * *

_

"I'm not going to wait that long!" Sakura declared. "You _will _die!" She charged him, but he disappeared. "Shit!" She threw her kunai to the ground. "God damn it! Come out you coward! Come out and fight me!" Naruto looked at her. She acted rather much like Sasuke did when his older brother was around. Sasuke had collapsed onto the ground, exhausted from Orochimaru's hold on him. Sakura started to run deeper into the forest, but Sasuke, even though his energy was still drained away, forced himself up and grabbed her by her arm.

"No," he bluntly stated. "Don't."

"Sasuke, let go of me!" she demanded. Sasuke shook his head.

"No," he repeated.

"If you're not going to help me, then you're my enemy!"

"Sakura…" There was "poof" and Kakashi appeared. Sakura, still out of her wits, wrenched herself free of Sasuke's grasp, picked up the kunai, and ran towards the silver-haired Jonin. Sasuke latched onto her waist and pulled her back yet again.

"It's just Kakashi, Sakura," he said, keeping the struggling girl from attacking their teacher.

"What's going on?" asked Ino, who was now over her paralysis from her fear of the snakes for the moment.

"This exercise has been shortened due to certain circumstances which I'm sure you are all aware of," Kakashi replied. "The Hokage has ordered everyone to return back to the village."

"What about Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.

"She has suggested that we refrain from finding him and engaging him in battle. She has ANBU trailing him now," he responded.

"I don't care!" Sakura shouted. "I just want to see him dead!" She struggled to get free again. Sasuke swiftly knocked her out like he had done four years earlier, and soon her body went limp.

* * *

It was the middle of the night and Sasuke stood at the gates of Konoha Village. He was leaving again. _He'll pay… Orochimaru will pay for all the pain he's caused Sakura. He will pay… _And with that thought, he left the village without telling anyone where or why he was leaving. Except for one person that is. Kakashi sat quietly on a wall and watched the sixteen-year old leave the village's borders…

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning to everyone in a panic.

"What's going on?" she inquired. Everyone froze at the sound of her voice. The whole room went silent.

"He's left…" was all Naruto said.

"WHY!" she yelled back.

"We don't know."

"Is anyone looking for him?"

"Not at the moment and I highly doubt they ever will again."

Sakura sat quietly not knowing the real reason why the dark-haired ninja left. _He left again. He left without telling me. He left to gain power again. He doesn't care. He doesn't care at all, and for that, he will feel my wrath…

* * *

_

**Fin.**


End file.
